Back in the days when all my friends were saying bad things about disco (you know the phrase), I'd always respond, "Well, listen to Donna Summer. She can WAIL." Great pipes were not a prereq for dance music then--and still aren't I guess given that thin voiced Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone Ritchie reigns over the realm once ruled by rich voiced LaDonna Andrea Gaines Sommer Sudano.

Of course, there was no convincing diehard disco haters. A few may have been won over by some of the rockier material like "Hot Stuff" and "The Wanderer." But in the ever fragmented world of rock and pop, it was doubtful that Donna was going to expand her base all that much. I doubt that I would have any better luck getting the skeptics to listen to Summer's Christmas record either. But this one certainly presents the case for Summer as a talented vocalist in yet another convincing context. For anyone who cares to listen.

If there's any formula for a Christmas album, it's got to be the old "something old, something new," principle. Donna Summer and her producers wisely choose material that will show off her vocal abilities to good effect--with a special emphasis on religiously themed traditional carols, and a few similarly themed compositions by contemporary artists like Amy Grant--and Summer herself (in collaboration with producer Michael Omartian and husband Bruce Sudano).

And a few secular standards are included too. No one can argue with selections like "The Christmas Song," "White Christmas," and "I'll Be Home For Christmas." Donna is able to add a little something of her own touch to these classics. But her re-imaginings of some of the more traditional numbers are perhaps the album's best moments. A "Christmas Medley," consisting of "What Child Is This?," "Do You What I Hear?," and "Joy to the World" is particularly inventive and very stirring. The singer's gospel roots are on display on this track and on several others (including a rousing "O Holy Night" with a full gospel choir).

Summer's re-embracing of her Christian faith in the 80s lends her interpretation of the religious themed tracks a special fervor. That feeling is contagious, no matter what one's own personal beliefs may be. It's nice hearing a singer tackling material she's committed to. Donna Summer sounds very much at home here. And a cozy home it is too.